Experiments
by Gae-ta
Summary: What really surprise me is the fact that it seems like no one else have written don and put out this idea... I mean, ain't this quite obvious? huh? HUH?
1. Chapter 1

**Experiments**

Manta sighed as he looked down at his shoes, it was a late evening, at the verge of becoming night, and he was waiting for the last train to arrive. School had ended late again, but it didn't matter much to Manta, Yoh had gone to Izumo, without even saying goodbye.

'I g_uess he hates me so much that he won't even speak to me again.'_ Manta closed his eyes, thinking depressive thoughts, not even bothering to look up as he heard boots walk over the ground. He supposed it was just another person who had to work late, yet he opened one eye to see who it was, then his eyes dilated.

"Hello Manta." An eerily familiar voice spoke.

"F-Faust VIII." Manta wanted to scream, but it only came out as a mere whisper. Recalling everything that had happened that night only a few weeks ago he quickly decided to flee. But as he jumped down from the bench and ran in the other direction, he didn't get very far.

Faust didn't even have to run after him, even though it would have been easy enough, instead he smiled down at his skeleton-dog as Frankensteiny carried Manta back.

"Good dog" Faust spoke out as he scooped up Manta who was now paralyzed with fear. Frankensteiny barked and waged his tail, glad to make his master happy.

"P-please let me go." Manta whispered, his whole body trembling with fear.

"I'm sorry, but I can't just let an interesting specimen like you just slip away, can I?" Faust chuckled as he covered Manta's nose and mouth with a cloth. "From now on you'll be my little lab-pet." Manta struggled for a moment, but then his struggles faded to nothing as he lost against the chloroform. Everything turned into darkness.

As soon as Manta had opened his eyes he wished he hadn't. He had a huge head-ache. Manta groaned as he sat up to see where he was. It reminded a little about a hospital but it did in fact look more like some sort of lab than any hospital Manta had been to.

"Decided to wake up now? Good." Manta twitched as he realized Faust where standing beside the bed, scribbling down something in a note-book. Then he took his notebook and pen in one hand and laid his other hand on Manta's forehead. "How do you feel? Do you feel nauseous or dizzy?"

"No, just a headache." Manta replied and the doctor wrote it down. As the doctor wrote in his notebook Manta felt how tears were starting to well up.

"Hm?" Faust looked over his notebook at the quivering Manta.

"W-what are you going to do to me?" Manta had to struggle to keep his voice steady.

"Hm? Have you not understood? You are my lab pet now, Manta." Faust gave a low chuckle. "There's a small bathroom behind that door over there and food will be served three times a day. Except before operations of course." Faust chuckled aging.

With a shriek he jumped out of the bed and sprinted past Faust towards the door. But before Manta could open it, he was picked up by a pair of skeleton hands.

"No, no, no, no!" Manta cried as Eliza held him in a firm grip and turned him around to face Faust. "Let me go!" Manta started to sob while Eliza then pinned him down on the bed, he squirmed but it was impossible to get away. And while the grip on him hardened Manta started to panic.

"You won't calm down, will you?" Faust said as he looked at the two. "Very well then." Faust turned to one of the benches that was in the room and started preparing a syringe.

Manta whimpered when he saw Faust approach and felt his left sleeve being pulled upwards by Eliza.

"P-please, don't." Manta whispered as he saw Faust preparing to inject the needle.

"Don't worry, this doesn't hurt at all."

Manta quickly looked away, whimpering and with tears still running down his checks. He'd always been scared of needles. His lips let out a small whimper and he twitched slightly as the needle pricked his skin. It felt cold as it emptied its contains into Manta's arm.

"You shouldn't make such a huge fuss over this, you'll get used to this sooner or later." Faust said with a little laugh as he took out the needle. But Manta didn't answer, instead he fought for keeping his eyes open. But only after a few minutes Manta lost conscious and everything turned black.

**You know, one of the things that surprise me the most is the fact that it seems like no one else had written and put up a fanfic like this, I mean, isn't this quite obvious? The reason Faust even cut Manta open was coz he was an 'interesting specimen' in the manga. **

**Oh, I guess this **_**is**_** based on the manga then, but in this version Eliza didn't loose her precious legs (CURSE YOU ASAKURA YOH! )** now… I'll probably delete this story someday, but first I think I'll put up other chapters, too.

'' er, I got idea's for both Necroman's apprentice and Remain or leave, please bear with me, I don't want to rush it but I WILL update! Or foul demons with bad breath will eat my soul! And we can't let that happen, can we?


	2. Chapter 2

**Since I forgot to mention it, I DO NOT OWN SHAMAN KING and since I do not have a lot of money, there's no point in suing me. **

Manta slowly opened his eyes, for some reason he was awfully thirsty and his tongue felt dry and swollen. He was lying flat on his back on a not-too-comfortable mattress, he tried to move into a more comfortable position, but soon noticed that he couldn't. He tried to move again but soon realized that the 'bed' he was lying on was in fact a stretcher with strains attached to it, sorta like you could find at a hospital.

"So… you're awake now, good." Faust was doing some paperwork at a desk and didn't bother to turn to look at Manta. Manta noticed that he was hyperventilating and quickly tried to stop it. He whimpered when Faust turned around and walked over to him.

"Manta…" Faust stroke away Manta's bangs so he could see his eyes. "You shall know that misbehaving is something I do not tolerate. To try to escape is nothing but futile, do you understand?"

Manta avoided the doctor's blue eyes and again tried to move with no success. Faust gripped Manta's chin and forced Manta to look up into his blue eyes. "I said, do you understand?" The doctor's voice contained no anger but now there was a hard edge put into his words.

"I… I understand." Manta mentally scowled at himself but he knew far too well what the doctor was capable of.

"Good." Faust let go of Manta and returned to his desk. "Now we'll need, yes, and…" Fast started speaking quietly to himself in German while preparing something. Manta whimpered but couldn't do anything but to wait, for whatever Faust was planning to do.

Only a soft whimper passed Manta's lips as he saw the doctor turn around and to his horror held a syringe ready in his hand. With a gentle touch Faust pulled away the lower part of Manta's shirt and the upper part of the trousers so a piece of his thigh became visible. Manta bit his lip and quickly turned his head away as Faust injected the needle, a few seconds passed, then it was over. Faust took, the now empty, syringe and returned to his desk. Manta guessed that he'd been injected with some kind of anesthetic because as soon as the needle had been taken out he was starting to feel numb. It was a numbness that was slowly growing from where he'd been injected. But it wasn't over yet, Manta could feel it. And it was true, Faust had returned with another needle. Or… it looked pretty much as needle, except that is much bigger and longer.

Manta sensed that if he hadn't been given the painkiller he'd been screaming and screaming until he had no voice left. But he didn't, there was no pain, just an uncomfortable feeling as the huge needle pricked his skin and went deeper. He could actually _feel _as it went through his bone, stopping for a split second, and then was pulled back out. Manta felt his eyes water and soon the tears were flowing down his checks.

"Now… I need to work on my research, my lovely Eliza could you do me the favor of returning Manta to his room?" Eliza who had remained unseen by Manta, stepped forward and started losing the strains that was holding Manta. Slowly he slid off to the ground. For a second he stood shakingly and then fell the floor. He hardly could feel his legs much be able to stand or walk. Eliza picked him up and Manta didn't protest as she carried him out of the room, what would have been the use of that anyway? He couldn't even run now. He closed his eyes, he felt so numb in whole body.

Manta recognized the room as Eliza opened the door, it was the very same bed that he had woken up in before. Rather gently Eliza put him down on then and then left. After a little while, now that he was truly alone, Manta started to sob. He cried and he cried, his sleeves were turning rather soaked but he didn't care, in the end it didn't matter. After a while it seemed like the anesthetic was wearing off, now he started to feel his legs again, and with that, pain. The pain made him cry even more, his leg was hurting so badly.

And the worst of all, he'd probably have to get used to this. Yoh had already spoken out clearly that he did not want to be friends with Manta since it had jeopardized his chances of becoming the shaman king. And his family didn't have the faintest idea of where he was. Nobody did and no one would come to rescue him this time. It was just like Faust had stated, he _was _only a lab pet now, no more no less.

A lab pet.

A lab rat.

**-end of chapter two-**

**I guess I updated coz I kinda felt like updating. Oh, and thank you very much for the review Evil Kasumi. I appreciate it, a lot. And, if anyone else is reading this fic (which I kinda doubt) you should leave a review so I know what people think of this story so far, and any TIPS and IDEAS would be much appreciated. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Finally, the third chapter! Yatta! Thank you so very much for your reviews Evil Kasumi and Bugsey58 and of course I'm happy that so many have faved my fic. Thank you everyone! You give me a lot of confidence guys. **

**Oh, about this chapter, '' sorry for any mistakes I've made, it's so hard to get into a writing mood and school have started again T.T all those who dislike school raise your hand. -looks around- **

Manta was lying in fetal position on his bed. How long time had passed since he had woken up in the doctor's home? From what he could reckon it at least had to be a week but he wasn't sure, but felt like… months. After that time when Faust had taken some bone marrow from him, he'd hardly seen the doctor since. Only a few times. Manta closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep.

Time passed.

Nothing happened. Manta let his mind slip away and imagined that he was flying. Yes, he was flying high among the clouds… floating high above the sea. He smiled gently, a breeze going through his hair… then he woke up. He wasn't sure what had happened, if it was still a dream or not, but when a gentle hand stroke away his bangs he was sure that he wasn't still dreaming. And he wasn't. When he opened his eyes he saw Eliza bending over him slightly. Before Manta would probably started screaming if he'd woken up with a skeleton looming over him. Probably. But now, he didn't even flinch. What would have been the use of that anyway? The skeleton sat down beside Manta a he began to move and sit up.

Normally Eliza just brought food into the room, waited until Manta had finished and then left with the empty plates. But now she hadn't brought any food. Instead she, with surprisingly gentle hands, picked Manta up and put him down at the floor. She stood up and walked towards the door. Since Faust didn't have her soul Eliza couldn't speak but she turned to Manta and gestured for him to follow her. Manta felt numb and cold as he followed her. But really, what choice did he have? He was after all only a lab pet now… and if he didn't cooperate then who knew that'd happen. Manta looked down at the floor as he followed her.

Manta recognized the room as he entered it, it was here Faust had… Manta twitched as he heard the door close behind him, waking him up from his memories of the last time he'd been in this room.

"Sa Manta… good that you came at last, I was just done with preparing for my little experiment." Faust scooped Manta up with ease and put him on top of the desk. "Now, you won't put up such a big fight as you did the last time now will you?" The doctor didn't wait for Manta to answer as he started unbuttoning Manta's shirt right away, ignoring Manta's small protests.

"W-what are you-?!" Manta shrieked and tried to push away Faust's hands. Mistake. With ease Faust took both Manta's wrists and held them as high as Manta's arms could reach above his head. With his other hand he unbuttoned Manta's trousers and unzipped them.

"Before I start this experiment I need to some exact research…" Faust murmured, "it's nothing to be embarrassed of." Yet Manta tried his best to cover himself as he was pushed to a measuring stick that was stuck in the wall, like the one doctor's normally used with children. This one even had butterflies and was very childish and colorful, it looked out of place.

"My… you really are a short figure…" Faust murmured as he wrote some notes down. He also checked how much Manta weighed before he returned him to the desk. "I think I'll need… yes, that'll due…" Manta only partly heard Faust words as he talked to himself, but he, with a cold shiver, guessed that it was about the 'experiment.' And it was true, when Faust turned towards Manta again he held a syringe in his hand. The liquid inside it was transparent and Manta couldn't help that he stared at it as it was brought closer. He started shaking lightly and as he met the doctor's eyes. Manta felt his heartbeat increase and instinctively looked around in hoping to find a way of escape. Yet he didn't run, didn't even try to get away when Faust prepared to inject the needle. What would have been the use of that anyway? He'd only be brought back by either Eliza or another skeleton. He 

only let out a small whimper, was it just his imagination or did it feel as if a new coldness was floatin through his veins?

"Your old clothes are dirty since you haven't changed them in a while now, so I asked Eliza to get you some new ones." Manta wasn't sure of what he should say about his new clothes. It were a pair of jeans that seemed to once have been dark blue but now had been worn out into a faint light blue. And the green T-shirt was absolutely enormous, way too big for his tiny little figure. To be honest he preferred his old clothes even if they were perhaps now as clean as one could wish but at least it was the right size. Yet, Manta said nothing about it as he was brought back to his room again.

... Voltaire totally kicks ass...

Manta sat by the window as he read one of the book he'd been given. It was written in English but it was okay, Manta was good enough in it to understand roughly what was written. It was when he was pondering over an English phrase that he wasn't sure what it meant that he felt the first effect of the shot he'd been given earlier. It felt like someone stabbed him in his abdomen and with a sudden shriek he fell down to the floor. He stood up but at once fell to his knees. He felt his stomach turning and quickly got up on his wobbly legs and ran towards the bathroom.

His head was hanging over the toilet seat. He'd thrown up until he'd felt the taste of sour bile. Manta dry heaved a few times before he flushed away the goo and rinsed his mouth in the washing bin. The whole world was spinning as he left the bathroom and walked towards the bed. Rather clumsily he climbed up on it and slumped down. After that everything was a blur and his mind slipped in and out. But after a while he started to reach a state of consciousness again he felt a dull ache that was growing.

It felt as if his boned were on fire. He winced but wasn't sure if he had his eyes opened or closed, the intense pain made it impossible to focus. Manta felt the bitter taste of bile again but he knew that he wouldn't be able to make his way back to the bathroom again. He swallowed dryly and felt a metallic taste in his mouth. Now the pain reached another level and he wanted to scream but only a gasp passed his lips. Manta felt how his heartbeat increased and he panted desperately as if his lungs couldn't take it enough air, now and then letting out a sob.

'_Oh god… please… just let me die.'_

Somehow Manta had o have fainted, either out of pain or something else, because when he opened his eyes again the pain had grown into a bearable dull ache that was mostly concentrated in his legs. But he felt awfully thirsty, he had to drink something. Manta moved very carefully towards the edge of the bed and slid down. But as soon as he balanced his whole weight on his legs he let out a shrill cry of pain and fell down to the floor. Again he felt darkness fill his vision and he lost conscious again.

**Atjoo! **

**I'm having a cold (pity me) and of course I don't have to mention that ****I do not own shaman king****and will not make money out of this ****and reviews are greatly appreciated. And remember, reviews are silver, tips how to continue my story is **_**gold.**_ See ya!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter four**

"Gnh…" Manta opened slowly his eyes. He was lying in his bed again. Manta moved carefully but stopped dead when the familiar ache returned to his limbs. Though… it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been before. Yet he twitched involuntarily when he felt a hand on forehead.

"Hm… a slight increase in temperature… but nothing that'll need to be treated unless it get worse…" Manta watched the doctor carefully with half lidded eyes, _why do I feel so tired?_

"C-could I have some water?" Manta's words were slurred and Faust raised an eyebrow before he understood what Manta meant. With a small gesture with his hand Eliza stepped forward. With one hand she helped Manta sit up, leaning him against the pillow and gave him a glass of water with the other one. Manta had to hold it with both his hands as he carefully took a sip of it. _Why do I feel so weak?_ He thought when he'd noticed that his hands were trembling slightly. With a gentle touch Eliza took the glass away from him and put it on the bedside table before he'd drop it.

"You've slept for nearly three days." Faust said, as if answering Manta's unspoken question.

Manta's eyed dilated and his jaw dropped open. He'd been asleep for three days? Was that even possible? Sure he'd heard of people that fallen asleep in comas but… how? And why?

'… _an experiment?' _

"Hm… it seems as if it drains the patient's energy and works as a soporific… how interesting." Faust stroked his hand over Manta's head, not very unlike as one does with a pet. "How did it feel? And how are you feeling now?"

"I… it was painful…" Manta whispered.

"It was?"The doctor's voice was calm and betrayed no emotions rather on the contrary in fact. Manta swallowed and pulled his legs up to his chest in a sitting fetal position as he continued.

"In the beginning I felt dizzy and threw up, then I went to bed and it hurt so much…"

Faust wrote down what Manta had said in his notebook. Manta hugged his legs more tightly and rested his chin against his knees. "…and when I tried to walk, it was so painful… I fell down to the floor and I think that I fainted." Faust nodded and scribbled it down.

"And do you feel now? Does it still hurt?"

"Now there's only this dull ache and I just feel so tired."

"Is that so?" Manta closed his eyes and rested his forehead against his knees. How could you feel so tired after you've just woken up? The sound of scribbling and then footsteps. Slowly he looked up as he felt the doctor's hand clench around his upper arm. Then his eyes dilated.

"Please don't." He whimpered. "Not again." Faust carefully placed the needle. Manta tensed and closed his eyes, a small streak of tears running from his eyes. Without another word Faust injected the needle.

"Now," Faust said while he took it out. "You must be starving since you haven't eaten for three days, what would you like to eat?"

"I'm not hungry." Manta said weakly.

"You need to eat." The doctor said with a stern voice. "And if you want to refuse, I am more that capable of stuffing down a hose down your throat to give you all the nutriment you need. Does that sound more pleasant to you?"

"…I'll eat."

-----

Manta had to force himself to eat. Sure the food Eliza cooked was good but, since he'd been injected again he had a slight nausea that was growing slowly. Manta wasn't sure if he'd be able to keep it later. He glanced at Frankensteiny that had been set on guard so Manta would eat up everything. The doctor himself and Eliza had already left the room.

Finally the plate was empty, even if he'd only put down his fork for a second Frankensteiny would have growled. Manta didn't think for a second that it had been an empty threat. No. Faust, being the person he was, he simply didn't use empty words. And when it was about 'medical research' as he'd called it, he was more that determined to achieve his goal. By any means necessary.

Manta put the empty plate on bedside table and then tried to find a comfortable position to sleep in. he felt the dull ache return as he slipped off to sleep.

**There, finally I've written the fourth chapter! Cheers mate! Hope ya like it.**

**Oh, thanks to Bugsey58 –yesh, Faust truly is a helpful sadist lol, and I have a feeling that you know what's going to happen… Asher Tye –No, of course there's nothing wrong with wanting to see your favorite character in pain. Chibi4rei- Get off! Get off! Get off! I've updated already so get off! **

**Now, before I leave I got a question, in future chapters (though most of my ideas a pretty blurry, so any tips is… ah screw that! I ain't gonna repeat myself again) none of you got anything against yaoi, right? **


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter five –because some people was demanding for it. **

Manta floated in a world between waking and darkness. The pain never really disappeared but swung to and fro between periods of heavier pain and just a dull feeling. Perhaps he was hallucinating due to the pain flows and the time between them. Vague shapes, colors, lightning bolts and images, faint shadows of memories from the past, all went in and out of his consciousness like an everlasting feverish dream.

"_You have to work harder Manta, remember that it's your duty to take over my company." _

"_Get lost, we're not friends anymore." _

"_Onisan, if you don't do as I say I'm going to tell on you and otôsan is going to be so mad at you_."

"_The one who sleeps with the dogs will wake up with fleas, I don't want you to meet that one Asakura Yoh again." _

Through the blurred visions and confused dreams, something was recalling Manta's mind back to his body slightly, yet he was far from waking up. He sensed that his mouth was being opened and sensed that something entered it. Whatever it was it was nearly constantly moving slightly, as if searching for something. However, it soon drew back and seemingly he was left at peace. For a little while. Then he felt some light pungent pain in his nose which soon turned into utter burning agony as it ate its way upwards.

Yet however, he didn't wake up. He couldn't. It was as if his body had gone into hibernation but only brought the mind with it half way in its iced sleep. It wasn't actually very unlike a dream, a nightmare where you could not run, you could not hide and you could not fight. The only choice you had was to endure, praying to the powers of the unknown that it would end soon.

He felt something tease at the end of his right nostril, before whatever it was went right up through it.

"Ghk…" A guttural sound could be heard as _it_ had reached is throat and slowly went deeper. _'So he wasn't faking about force feeding.' _Manta thought blearily as his mind started floating away again. It wasn't a pleasant feeling but since he was just on the streak edge of consciousness it felt slightly like a dream, possibly numbing the gag reflex. He only felt his body stir slightly as the hose went deeper, creating a new guttural sound.

Now Manta felt something as cold as ice running through the hose, on its way into his stomach. It was far from a pleasant feeling, very far from it. The way it ate its way slowly forward and was impossible to stop, like a cold wind going through your bones, scaring away all life and warmth. If he only could, he'd be trashing around screaming for it to stop. Even death seemed to be a better option than this. Every second was an eternity, a tortured mind inside a sleeping body. However, maybe the gods had listened to his plea and taken pity upon the small boy, his mind was floating away again, leaving his life supported body far behind.

* * *

Manta's eyelids twitched slightly once or twice before he opened his eyes. His vision was a bit blurry at first but after a few winches his world cleared and he stared at the white ceiling. He felt incredibly tired and his arms felt heavy as he lifted them to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

'_I am still alive.' _The thought was neither sad nor joyful, it was a mere statement of a fact. Faust hadn't killed him, yet. But deep down in Manta's heart he knew that it would probably only be a matter of time. Sooner or later, he sensed, the end would come.

But strangely enough that thought did not frighten nor sadden him more than the last one. Surely it wasn't a very pleasant feeling, but what had been, lately? Manta closed his heavy eyes. Perhaps, while considering everything, death might not be so bad after all. Earlier, he would probably have cried at this thought, how his situation was so dreadfully hopeless, these everlasting "experiments," to not be seen as a human being but instead a test subject… and the loneliness. Yes, he would have cried until his eyes were red and swollen and wouldn't produce anymore tears. But that was in the past, now he just felt an everlasting heaviness in his chest. Yet, you could also say heaviness contained another feeling, acceptance.

Or… he did want to live. The tired light of a setting sun shone through the window. Yes, he _wanted_ to live. A blind prehistorical instinct, almost as old as time itself, that said: You must live. You must fight, you cannot give up, YOU MUST LIVE. The instinct of self-preservation. No matter how dark or hopeless the situation might seem you'd always have a tiny shred of it, telling you to fight. Or if defeated, at least crawling back to your lair, licking your wounds, clinging onto life as a bloodthirsty leech.

Maybe it was that Manta had fallen asleep again because the next time he opened his eyes he found that he'd woken up in another room. The furniture was different and he was lying on a stretcher instead of his bed, however this time he wasn't strained to it, a small comfort. Slowly it dawned to him that it was the same room where Faust had taken a small sample of bone marrow from his, and then… Manta shivered at the memories.

The door suddenly opened and Faust stepped inside, as always Eliza was by his side. He looked at Manta and then tilted his head to one side with a little smile playing on his lips.

"So you are awake now? That's good." He turned to his skeleton wife. "Eliza my love, could you help young Manta get up? I need to do some exact research now, bitte." He walked over to the desk and started preparing his paperwork while Eliza helped Manta to sit up before she picked him up. She handled him with the same care as a little girl would do with her most precious doll as she lifted him in her arms and much like a doll Manta lay limp and motionless in her arms. As if he made of glass and would break at any second if treated indiscreetly, she carefully placed him on the floor. Manta stood still for a moment, then a tremble went through his fragile body and he would probably crashed down onto his knees if it hadn't been for Eliza. Just as gracefully as before, she supported him as he stumbled towards Faust so the examination could begin. He wondered if he'd been in bed so long that his legs had forgotten how to walk, how long could that have been then?

First up there was the blood test. It wasn't that bad really, he didn't even flinch at the sight of the syringe. He supposed he'd gotten used to it. Yeah, piece of cake. Next was checking his senses, hearing and sight, both were completely normal.

"Seems as if the patient doesn't need glasses, aren't you glad Manta?" Faust chuckled.

"Um… I suppose so." The question had taken Manta completely off guard and the doctor chuckled again eerily at his own joke. The sound made Manta's skin crawl.

Next was measurement of his length. At this Manta was shell chocked. He'd grown about twenty-five centimeter. Twenty-five frigging centimeter in how long? Well, suppose that didn't matter much, it must at least have broken some kind of fucking world record. Sure, he was still short for a person at the age of thirteen but still. But still it was pretty impressive grow spurt, wasn't it?

With eyes wide of chock, Manta glanced around in the room, spotting a mirror which he hadn't paid much attention to before. As Faust now scribbled down the results Manta stumbled towards the mirror.

He was pale, awfully pale, with dark shadows under his eyes in spite of how much he'd slept. What also was notable was that he, except of being taller, was much slimmer and thinner than before. He had always been rather plump, probably mostly because he was so short. He ate about as much as a normal person in his age, or perhaps a bit less but he'd loved sweets as much as like anyone. Great stuff when you were up studying late, or had a lot of cram school lessons. He'd have an especially weak spot for vanilla ice-cream. And like many in his age he'd wished he'd been thinner, and taller and… all those common wishes people have he supposed. To fit in really. It wasn't easy being at his height, so if not to fit in, he'd wished to become taller because it was a little bit more convenient.

But now looking at his own reflection, this wasn't what he'd wanted nor wished for. To be taken away from everything he'd known, to be used as a guinea pig for an experiment. To suffer the pain it had caused, to be stolen away and left in complete and utter solitude. All to be turned into something… something he himself or anyone wouldn't even recognize! He slowly sank down onto his knees, a small and fragile hand touching the mirror. He'd always imagined himself to look better if he'd been taller, it wasn't until now he'd realize that it wasn't necessarily the truth. This new growth and slenderness was sickly and unnatural, the same beauty as a starved child or animal. His empty and hollow eyes and pale skin, he looked like death. He felt tears starting to well up. Still he stared at the reflection.

"I hate you." He whispered quietly, nearly only mouthing the words.

"Hm? Did you say something?" Faust looked up from his notes.

"I hate you." Manta repeated with a slightly louder voice. "I hate you." Again he raised his voice and started chanting the words as a mantra. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I HATE YOU." At the last one his voice broke and tears went streaming down his face. "I HATE YOU!" Now he cried out his words, "I HATE YOU!" Violent sobs shook his whole figure. "I HATE YOU SO MUCH!"

"Why did you do this to me? Why?! You nearly killed Yoh and now he hates me! You kidnapped me and put me in this godforsaken house! You won't let me go home. You've turned me into some sick and twisted experiment! You've ruined everything and turned my life into a living hell!!!" he made a sharp inhale now. "I hate you so much! I wish you were dead!"

After this final curse he did not utter another word, Manta just covered his face with his hands and cried. He wept like he'd never done before, losing track of time, his tears was just like an everlasting flow, dripping onto the floor or sucked up by his T-shirt. Somewhere deep down, it felt good to let go of all emotions and lose all self-control. Surely he was scared of what the doctor might do to him but he'd been so scared for such a long time, it felt as if he didn't care anymore what'd happen. Not at least now.

The doctor witnessed the emotional breakdown that was taking place before him with cold and unreadable eyes. A face that might just as well have been made out of wax. Not a word passed his lips as the young boy's body quivered, as the sounds of weeping were slowly dying out. What had began as a seemingly endless flow had now come to an end, perhaps because there may be a limit for the sorrow that a heart can carry, and tears to drop from the eye.

Silence. Manta breathed quietly now. Somehow he felt at a loss of emotions, as if they had been drained along with his tears. Yet, he felt strangely calm and at peace. He stared at the floor with hollow eyes. Nothing more could happen now, whatever Faust was planning, it didn't matter anymore.

"Are you done?" Faust's voice betrayed just as much emotions as his icily blue eyes, which were scanning him with a scrutinizing look. The chilling stare of a doctor's eyes.

"Yes." Manta breathed his answer, not even above a whisper.

"Good"

Faust spoke to Eliza in his own native tongue, the meaning lost to Manta who only briefly wondered what he'd said. He was staring at the floor as Eliza slowly walked towards him and picked him up, this time roughly as if he was an old ragdoll. An ugly and a worn out ragdoll, a toy that never could be loved by anyone. Ready for the dumpster, no one would mourn the loss of it.

This time Manta was ushered to an, to him, unknown area of the house. Through long, chilly, and shadowy corridors, it suddenly came to a halt. Eliza shoved him into a small cupboard and closed the door. In the utter darkness Manta could hear the clinking sound of a lock and the almost soundless footfalls of Eliza. Now he knew that he was completely alone.

He sat up and put his arms around his knees, he couldn't see a thing except the darkness that seemed to go forever.

He shivered, the air was cold.

Time went past, it was extremely frustrating not being able to judge wether his eyes was open or closed. He sneezed, the air was really cold.

It was impossible to judge how much time that had gone by, could be an hour, and could be only a few minutes. He tried to rub some warmth into himself, into his bare toes that had gone numb a while ago.

He heard something! A squeak and the running of small paws.

Or was it just his own imagination?

He felt something stroke briefly against his naked toes, another squeak. _'Rats!' _again the darkness returned into deafening silence, if you looked beside the sound of a heavily thumping heart. Manta felt himself starting to gasp for air, like a fish that had stranded. He couldn't breathe.

He couldn't take it anymore, he was suffocating, he started to pound his fists against the door. He started to scream with fear, a horrible sound. In his head he started to hear more noises, rats that was coming to eat him alive and only leaf the clean bones, they were coming for him. THEY WERE COMING FOR HIM!

He saw white and purple spots in front of his eyes, he pounded the door with all his might. The sounds that came out of his throat didn't even sound human anymore. It was the cry of a savage beast that could see death creeping nearer and nearer by the second.

But he couldn't stop the crying, he started to wail. A thought suddenly occurred to him.

"I'm sorry."

This was a punishment.

"I'm sorry!" The panic flowing through his veins, he had to GET OUT.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

He wailed, clawing to wood until he was sure that his nails were smeared with blood. He felt a warm and gooey feeling in his undergarments as his bowels emptied themselves. Still repeating the phrase as a mantra to keep him from the insanity he saw in front of his eyes, all around him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I yelled, PLEASE LET ME OUT, I'LL DO ANYTHING, JUST LET ME OUT!!!"

The world was turning into an unbelievable whirl of insanity and madness, he kept clawing and pounding at the door, begging for mercy and to be let out of his misery.

And while begging, he wept, still screaming and wailing. Begging for mercy, for it all to end. In utter and complete desperation he hit his head against the door. Repeating it, banging his whole body against it. Over and over again.

'_Oh gods… I'm so sorry! Please let it end, I'll do anything. I'M SORRY!"_

Later that day, when Eliza came to bring back the boy to his room, she found him lying unconscious on the floor inside the cupboard. His fingers were bloody, the nails nearly torn to their roots and when she'd looked closer, she'd found out that he'd soiled himself.

Neither taking pity upon the boy, or frowning over the displeasing smell that hovered around him. She took care of his damaged fingers and gently washed his body in the shower before redressing him and putting him down upon his bed.

Outside the window the sun was setting, the sky was crimson red. 

**Dude… if you didn't think that was disturbing then you either got nerves of steel or should be taken into a mental institution. I mean, I really went whacko at end, didn't I? Suppose it wasn't for nothing that I put this one under the 'horror' genre. **

**T'was really a long time since I started writing this one, I almost think that my writing has improved a little at least, what do you think? English isn't my native tongue after all… only question I have is if I'll ever be good enough to become a real author. Like one that's publishing books and is somewhat famous and stuff like that… **

**Dreaming is possible at least. **

**Anyho, getting back to the point. I don't think I'm gonna follow the original idea I had and that I'll end this fic soon. The original plot was waaaaaaay to much cliché and cheesy, including Manta running away, being saved and turned into a shaman by Lilly five (bit later idea I confess) and entering the tournament. **

**Well there, Hao would take a sick and twisted interested upon the boy – resulting in a kidnap and rape (what can I say? I wrote it was stupid and cheap, but I was in love (and in some ways still is) with the yaoi goodness.) but I don't think I'll ever write that, I gotta be proud over my job when it comes to writing, otherwise it's just pure and utter shit. **

**If I ain't pleased with what I've written, and doesn't 'flow' right and doesn't move the reader emotionally, it's fucking useless, get what 'm saying? I aim for perfection. Everything else is a failure. **

**But you guys shouldn't worry though, I got another idea at the same theme in store, if I ever get someone kicking my butt hard enough to get me starting -_-'**

**Btw, reviews & ideas and reflections (deep or light) are always appreciated here. Just no flaming, try to keep constructive on what I could do better and please NOTE YOU CAN WRITE A REVIEW EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT LOGGED IN OR HAVE AN ACCONT. **

**C'mon, don't be a bloody pussy on me. Hit the fucking review button down here below and tell me to stop screwing around with people and write more stuff!**

**I can't slice you open through the screen. **

**Fucking wankers. **

**Ps. I can soooo see this being written in Japanese, Manta chanting****　きらいだよ，だいきらいだよ！　****And then screaming ****ごめん　なさい、ごめん　なさい、ごめん　なさい！　****The later one just like in Higurashi, like MIon, or was it Shion? I can never tell those two apart…**

**Btw, anyone out there knows any 'safe' sites that I can buy the complete higurashi season DVD box? I soooooo wanna watch it! …legally. **


	6. Slutet part one

**Chapter six –part one**

**Um, just before we start, I thought this chapter was becoming a bit too long so I cut it up into two parts. The other part is only half done but I'll upload that soon. That'll be the last chapter of this story… though I may continue it, I got a few new ideas which I'm going to talk about next time… but for the time being, ENJOY! :D THANK YOU ALL FOR THE NICE REVIEWS, YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!**

* * *

It took very long time for Manta's nails to heal. When he'd woken up he had found all of his fingers strictly bandaged. And a few days later when it had come off, he could hardly bear to look at it, yet he couldn't help that his eyes, as if drawn, stared at his hands. It was horrible, truly horrible what he had done to himself. He had force himself to look at something else as the sight of the damage made him feel nauseas.

Manta never raised his voice towards the doctor again. He became even much more silent than before, only answering the doctor's questions with either s nodding or shaking his head. The only time when he spoke was when the doctor asked him a question that demanded more than a 'yes' or 'no.' He kept his gaze low, never looking the doctor in the eye for more than a second. Faust noted it down in his note book as he continued his experiment.

The pain caused from the unnatural growth never subsided. But perhaps Manta's body was getting used to the hormones and chemicals that the doctor kept injecting him with, as he wasn't as sick as he had been. He never lost consciousness and rarely threw up anymore. Though, he hadn't regained any sort of appetite, yet he ate what they gave to him, scared of what the consequences might be otherwise.

'What's bad can always turn into worse', Manta reasoned, and thus, always tried his best to cleanse his plate. Even if he knew that wouldn't be able to keep it for a longer time.

The doctor gave Manta a criticizing look. He was much too skinny and physically weak because of the lack of exercise, and that wasn't good for the sake of his experiment. Manta needed to stay healthy, at least until the end of the experiment.

Manta glanced for a second at the doctor and then quickly returned his gaze to the floor. He was beginning to hate those eyes, the way they looked at him. It was as if they shredded away all his protective layers and looked into his soul, the very core of his being. Nothing could be hidden away or remain unnoticed. Manta stared intently at the floor. Oh, how he wished that he could sink just right through it. He wanted to be somewhere else so badly, anywhere else than where he was. He wanted to curl up into a ball, shutting out the outer world, those cold and blue eyes. They were colder than ice, and their intent stare could freeze hearts.

…

'_This place never ceases to amaze me' _Manta thought as he was led into another room which he'd never seen before. The walls was coloured a soft pink which gave an odd sort of 'warmth' to the room. At the window there was a couple of white curtains with needlepoint and a flower pot at the sill (later, when he had a chance to look at it close-up, Manta discovered that it was plastic). But what was perhaps the most out protruding and odd-looking thing about the room, which made it look like something from another world, was the fact that it was full of children's toys, such as skipping ropes, dolls, balls, pieces of Lego just to name a few of them.

None of it seemed to be new, surely nothing was broken but nearly all of the toys showed signs of usage and being slightly worn out. Perhaps that they had been used by happy children at a time, laughing children that was creating entirely new worlds in their imagination that could not be seen nor understood by adults. A shield from reality, perhaps of one with a lethal disease where the parents hid their tears behind locked doors… Manta picked up one of the dolls and looked at it carefully. It had brown eyes and what had once been rosy red cheeks was now a pale face as the ravage of time and usage had worn off the colour. Perhaps there could once have been a little girl who had held the very same doll that Manta was holding now. If so, where was she now? Was she still alive? And if not, what would have killed her, accident or an untreatable disease? Manta stroke the doll's hair with a hand before he put it back into the box where he'd found it.

Manta looked out the window, the days were slowly growing shorter and the twilight sky seemed to be cold. Whoever that girl might have been, he would probably never meet her.

**secret********sublime**message**ahead**save******the*****environment****use***public*****transports***instead***of***personal***cars****

A few days had passed since Manta had been taken to the toy room and he and Eliza had started a rehabilitation program that was designed by Faust and consisted of flexing exercises and lighter muscle training exercises.

"The problem with being bedridden for a longer period of time," Faust had explained during one session which he'd decided to join in, probably to make sure of the progress, "is that the muscles will be dismantled after just a couple of days and lose their power. The same also goes for the agility of the body." Faust smiled as he put his hand upon Manta's head and ruffled his hair slightly, despite of the enormous grow spurt, was Manta a lot shorter than the doctor. But still, he didn't look up. Those cold eyes of the doctor… he kept his eyes fixed upon the floor.

"But we won't let that happen to you, right?" Faust lowered his hand so it rested upon the shoulder instead. Manta felt a nervous twitch in his stomach, he'd never get used to those hands, gloved or not. "We need you to stay as healthy as possible, at least until the end of the experiment."

"Imagine if it was so that the medicine affected muscle tissue but we'd never find out because you'd just stay in bed all day, wouldn't that be awful then?" The question remained unanswered, though, it didn't annoy the doctor. He'd never expected any.

"Yet, I can already see a few things that need to be adjusted, but where will I find another test subject?" The doctor moved his hand to the downside of Manta's chin and lifted it slightly, turning it as if he looked for something. His intent eyes still upon the boy, Manta made his best to avoid them. "Perhaps you have a brother or a sister who could volunteer? It's not uncommon that things like these runs through the family." Manta's eyes dilated and he stared at the doctor.

At once he began to think of his little sister Mannoko. She wasn't a very nice person, but she was family and the thought of letting her go through, no, letting _anyone_ go through the same thing as he himself had… Manta's lip started to tremble.

"No." He shook his head lightly. "I have no siblings, I was the only child." He could not wish his fate upon any other human being, the mere idea that the process would be repeated made him feel sick. He hoped dearly that the doctor wouldn't see through his lies, that his eyes wouldn't betray him.

"Hoo? Is that so?" Faust let go of the boy's chin with an eerie chuckle. "If that's so then… but it doesn't matter much right now anyway, the shaman tournament will continue soon, so I am afraid I won't have too much time for my small experiments for a while." He made a pause and walked towards the door, but well at it he stopped and turned to look at Manta. A small smile played upon his lips.

"It's always so tragic to say 'good bye' to someone, don't you think so Manta? To end something that has been such fun and interesting..? But I'll try to not feel too bad about it, after all, autopsies can be rather interesting, too." He turned back to the door. "If I were you, I'd try to enjoy my last days, Manta." The sound of the shutting door was surprisingly quiet, yet Manta found himself twitch at the sound.

"_my last days…"_

* * *

**Oh man, I'm a real asshole, aren't I? Just thinking of all the things Manta has gone through, yet I still manage to make it worse… but hey! It's just fiction, right? **

**Anyhow... I got a question to ask, is my English all right? You see, English isn't my native tongue, Swedish is, and I **_**want**_** to be able to use it the right way, so if you guys find some ever returning grammar error, please tell me about it (and about the rules how to use it correctly if you can) or if I'm using an expression or a saying the wrong way. You see, I mostly think up the story, phrases and such, in Swedish and then translate it so I might fuck it up sometimes. I'd be really grateful if you guys could help me, because I want to be able to use the languish without doing any mistakes. **

**English is such a hard languish, I'm taking the English C course now (the last one you can take at my school) and it's just so difficult I could throw up! X_X Hau… I wanna go back to dagis or preschool! **


	7. Slutet part two

**FINALLY! JIHIHIHIHI… pyshiiii –explodes–**

*************************..

Manta stared emptily upon the bedpost, remembering the words of the doctor, repeating them inside his head, word for word. _"If I were you, I'd try to enjoy my last days…" _

"Oh gods," Manta said in a husky voice as he covered his mouth with his hand. He wanted do cry so badly, to relieve some stress, but even that was denied him. Instead was his eyes helplessly dry as the words echoed through his head; _'my last days.' _

He wouldn't lie to himself, deep down he'd always suspected, and feared, that it would end like this. When the competition started again, wouldn't it then be so much easier to kill the lab rat rather than bringing it along which might lead to trouble later on? But still he'd hoped that it wouldn't be so, that he would be spared.

In a way it was kind of funny, how destiny could baffle you time and time again, how it could mock you and decide to take a turn for the worst, laughing at you in your misery. During the worst hours, when every second felt like an hour of agony had Manta prayed and wished for nothing more than that it all would stop, even if it meant death.

Yet, now when he'd found out that it all would end so soon, he felt the strongest urge ever to live. Things which he'd never done popped up into his head, he'd never been kissed by anyone but of his mother on the forehead. He'd never graduate out of school, go to university, find someone to fall in love with, get married, have children. He covered his face with his hands, he felt so lonely. He would never be loved, and for some reason that thought seemed to be the one. All his life he'd been pressed to study so hard by his family that he'd never had time to experience it.

Love…

He thought back to the time when he'd met an exchange student girl from South Korea. He had been eleven years old at that time. She hadn't been very good at speaking Japanese but she had often smiled at him and once he had helped her with a math problem at cram school when the teacher was busy. After class when they were supposed to pick up their things and go home, her hand had brushed lightly against his hand as she picked up her eraser. Her face had grown as red as a tomato and she had quickly made her way out the classroom.

After that incident had Manta often felt her eyes upon his back, yet they never talked with each other again.

And now he couldn't even remember her name.

He hugged his skinny legs tightly, regretting bitterly that he'd never taken the chance to get to know her better. If anything else, they could have become friends, study partners at least. She had been kind and cute, what harm would it have done, if he'd ever told her that?

Manta looked up, the sun was setting, covered by a thick layer of clouds, would this be the last sun set that he'd ever see? Would tomorrow be the day? Or was it the day after tomorrow? Or the day after that? How much time was there left?

He stood up and walked to the window, how many day was left for him to live? And then, would it be painful? How would the doctor do it, a lethal dose of poison? Would he spend his last seconds in agony or falling deeper into a dreamless sleep?

Or what if the doctor wouldn't even bother to do that, and just cut him open like he'd done at that time at the cemetery? Manta swallowed dryly at the thought of it. It wasn't impossible.

No.

He wouldn't accept it. Before, the doctor may had been able to threaten him with punishment if he'd misbehave, but what did it matter now? He might just as well die tomorrow, so why bother? Manta smiled weakly, deep down wondering if he was turning insane, but thinking about all that'd happened, it was no wonder. He scoffed joylessly, it really was no wonder.

'_The door is probably locked' _Manta mused as his smile faded away. Yet he stood up and felt the handle just to make sure. And yes, locked. Manta turned around to face the window. That wasn't locked and he opened it slowly. He made a hasty guess that it was about… 30 meters to the ground, perhaps more. A drop from that height meant at least a broken leg, if not a broken neck. Manta looked around for some other way out. His eyes stopped upon the bed.

He remembered an old cartoon he'd used to watch when he was a little child, where the hero managed to get out of a room at the second floor by tying bed sheets together and using them as a rope in order to lower himself to the ground safely.

Manta worked quickly and quietly and soon the improvised rope was done. He tied it to one of the bedposts, made sure that the knot wouldn't go up, and then threw out the rope out through the window.

His heart sank as he looked down. The rope was too short. Manta bit his lip and turned to the bed.

Moving the bed closer to the window was hard and Manta hoped dearly that the doctor wouldn't hear the legs scraping against the floor and come check up on him. He'd be done for it if that happened.

Manta continued to gnaw his lip. There still was a gap between the end of the rope and the ground but there was nothing more he could do. He pondered briefly if he could throw out the mattress and use that to soften up his fall, but he quickly turned down the idea. First of all was the window to small and second was that if he'd be able to do it, it might draw some unwanted attention.

'_This simply has to do.'_ Manta sighted quietly and gave the room one last glance before he crawled out of the window and started climbing down the rope. He slid as slowly and carefully as he could, cautions not to look down. Though, when he reached the end of the rope, he had no choice but to do it. He felt a heavy churn in the pit of his stomach as he let go and fell the last meters.

He hit the ground with an awful thud. For several second he laid completely still, trying to regain the breath that had been knocked out of him, before he stood up tremblingly, supporting himself with one hand propped against the house.

There was no doubt that he had been lucky, there was no broken bones or any sprains.

It still hurt though. But nevertheless, Manta let go off the wall and started walking.

The ground was cold and damp, he wished that he'd had some shoes.

..

The "garden" seemed to be rather similar of a set from an otherworldly horror movie. It was a vast and an utterly gloomy graveyard, covered with a blanket of thin mist which almost made it hard to breathe. As Manta walked, he wondered if there had been some sort of epidemic as he could not see any pattern in how the tombstones were arranged, they seemed to have been put here and there in a hurry, and it was impossible to travel without at least treading upon some of the graves.

Manta whispered quiet apologizes as he moved forward, one for every grave he put his foot upon, even if he could not see any ghosts that was hanging around, it was better to be safe than sorry.

There were no ghosts, anywhere. That was the fact that creped out Manta the most and he wondered what could have happened to them, had they been driven away or left by their own free will? '_Maybe this place is too spooky even for ghosts? Can't blame them in that case.'_

As Manta walked he started to realize how old the cemetery must've been, all of the tombstones seemed to be neglected and was worn by both time and weather, decomposed and in spots covered with lichen and moss. When he took a closer look he saw that some of the stones, that still were barely readable, were dated to the 19th century. _'Suppose it's not strange that this place is abandoned then, all the mourning relatives must have died ages ago.'_

Time seemed to move at a slower phase than usual and the weak moonlight drained the world of its colours, turning it to a black and white photo. To Manta it felt as if he walked through a dream, not necessarily a nightmare. Suddenly Manta tripped over something. At first he could not comprehend what it was in the dim moonlight, but then slowly got to him. A skeleton arm that stuck out of the ground. He tried to muffle a shriek as he pulled himself away from the arm that had tripped him. Had the doctor noticed that he was missing already and gone out looking for him, bringing an army of skeletons with him? Manta felt himself become rigid with fear at the thought of it.

But the arm wasn't moving, not making any advances to seize him, the escapee. Seconds passed and all that could be heard was Manta's heavy pants as he waited for something to happen.

Nothing happened.

Slowly, very slowly, Manta stood up again, eyes never leaving the arm. It still didn't move and the cold night air was as deafeningly quiet as ever. Manta swallowed dryly.

Perhaps the doctor had practiced some necromancy, but then hadn't bothered to give his minions enough power to return to their graves. Here and there on the ground laid scattered bones, Manta tried his best not to look at them as he kept on walking.

Manta had no idea how long time that had passed when he finally reached the gates, but it sure felt like an eternity. The gates were huge and seemed to be almost as old as time itself and gave Manta a feeling of utter dread as he approached it. He tried his best to open it as quietly as possible yet it still made a horrible whining noise, as if complaining for being disturbed after such a long time of peace.

He was free.

Ahead of him laid a path which lead into a dark forest. Manta glanced over his shoulder one last time, once again astonished by how huge the graveyard was, and then he felt his heart sink as he realized that he had absolutely no idea where he was. Still, he turned around and started walking. Even if he had no idea how far it was to the nearest city or other people, he wasn't about to turn around. He wasn't going to give up now. If giving up meant death at the hands of an insane doctor, he'd do anything to live, crossing a mere forest would be a piece o' cake.

He almost chuckled at himself. Positive thinking, now? It felt like ages since he'd tried to think positive and pepped himself mentally. But then again, why not? He was free at last, was that not enough to make one skip, dance and laugh with joy? But almost at once his newfound optimism disappeared as quickly as it had come. Celebrate, was something he could after he'd found other people and had been rescued. Until then, it was better to stay realistic.

He wished dearly that he'd had a torch of some sort. It was too dark to see anything as the thick layers of leafs wouldn't let in much moonlight, his feet and knees hurt after tripping over tree roots.

After a while, it started to snow. Manta looked up in amazement as it rarely snowed in Tokyo, he caught one in his hand and admired it a second before it melted. He remembered that he'd once read that every snow flake was different from everybody else, if you looked close enough.

_They're just like feathers_, Manta mused, _like_ _small white downs, like the ones inside pillows! _At that thought Manta saw an inner mental image where a lot of angels were having an intense pillow fight with feathers flying in all directions, he smiled briefly at this.

Yet, even if the snow was beautiful, so was it very cold, too. Manta quivered as a chilly wind rushed past him, a mere T-shirt and a couple of old jeans didn't really offer that much warmth. He wrapped his arms around himself, he had since long lost the feeling in his toes.

_I must go on, I must find shelter…_ Manta thought as he stumbled forward. The cold was already getting to his much too thin and frail body, it was getting harder and harder to move his legs.

'_I don't think I can go on anymore…' _About two hour had passed since it had started to snow and despite that it wasn't such a long period of time, the snow was starting to pile up everywhere, making it rather hard to walk. Manta had since long lost all his feeling feet which was starting to turn into a pale blue and slightly puffy.

He trembled violently as he looked up at tiredly at the sky. He felt extremely tired and longed for nothing more than to lie down and sleep for a decade or two.

Finally Manta had reached his limits and fell face down into the snow.

It was soft, almost warm and welcoming. He tried to stand up, for a reason he couldn't remember anymore, but his body would listen to him anymore. It was as if his mind had been put into a dead bag of cement.

Slowly, he rolled onto his back and looked up into the sky. Among the falling snowflakes, there were sparkles, like tiny stars falling from the sky. Something in the back of his mind gnawed at mind, like a memory that wants to be remembered but was too weak, or had forgotten how to do it.

The sparks was slowly changing form and colour. They were turning into white butterflies. They swarmed around him, teasing him a little. When he tried to reach up and grab one with hand, it quickly escaped, seeming very far away. But then it came back and kept flying around above him tauntingly.

Yet even if they were teasing him, they were beautiful. They were like glowing little lights and Manta couldn't help but to smile, even if weakly. They were so pure, so white and somehow they felt… childish. An unspoken innocence that was not meant to be touched by someone as helplessly impure as he was.

Suddenly the swarm moved aside and Manta feared that they were going to leave him, but they only moving aside as the sky opened itself and warm light streamed down upon his, a soft white and welcoming glow. An unspoken promise of that there would be no more pain, just sleep.

No pain but sleep, a soft and warm sleep that would last until the end of time. Manta felt as if he floated in the turquoise depths of a tropical ocean. In the light a gentle and kind smile took form. A little thin girl surrounded by feathers, an angel. It was an angel from the skies. Manta longed to touch her, to brush his fingers across her face, her white and truly beautiful face. But he was too weak to move. The only thing he could do was to try to smile back at the angel. He closed his eyes, happy and relieved, like the spirit of a child that was reunited with its mother. A pure bliss that could not be put into words. ************************************************************************

Red eyes looked worriedly at the boy that lay before her. She had let his head rest on her knees , her pale fingers gently touched his forehead. "He's dying Marco, we must save him!"

"Marco" stood right beside her and corrected his glasses with one hand. "Yes, Lady Jeanne. I'll see to it immediately"

"Oh little boy, what ever could have happened to you?" She said out loud, her eyes filled with worry. "Eeng…" The boy was trying to say something! Jeanne quickly leaned down toward him and tried to listen more carefully. "What are you trying to say?" She spoke in a soft voice. "Please tell me, what are you trying to say." The boy's mouth moved for a bit before one quiet and slurred word came out.

"Eenguru."

**EFFEING FINNALY THIS FUCKING SHIT IS FREAKING OVAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -does a retarded victory dance-**

**It was so hard writing this chapter but FINALLY I'm somewhat pleased with it. And YES Iron maiden Jeanne comes randomly to save him, I wanted to keep it subtle but I couldn't help it, I couldn't keep it short. **

**And yes, I do believe that Jeanne is French and thus should speak in French. It's something about here whole appearance, dress and name and style, it's screaming "French person!1!" for some reason… but I can't speak it so I can't write what she's actually saying then T-T somebody out there know French and help me translate? PLEEEEEASE? That would be so awesome. Stupid me only know Swedish otherwise and there's no Swedish people in Shaman king (some Icelandic people tho) so my knowledge is EFFIN USELESS –cries–**

**But anyway (this author's note is probably already too long…) yeah, that's the end of this fanfic. Perhaps I could start writing on it again following the old an old idea I had but… school's a bitch. So well… sorry. And besides that there's always the problem with the lack of ideas. **

**But guess what, I got a new idea for another story! –people starts throwing trash cans at me- AOWIE! In that one I thought I could add some other shaman king character's and let them take part in different human experiments, but the sad thing is that I'm kind of out of ideas. Anyone who know what Faust should do to them? I want to keep it, like, at least at some levels realistic. Not like giving them a shot which makes them turn into magical animals in three second, I hate those kind of stories. Maybe I should go to the library, but I'm afraid that the librarian that will look at me in a funny way when I ask what books the they have that's about human experimentation… it's quite an odd subject to be interested of really… and there's not too many books upon that subject. **

**Anyone out there who know any good books about human experiments? Fictional or nonfictional, I don't care. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Well what do ya know? Another chapter, written in haste and prolly full of errors, ah well... first thing first I think I should tell you;****  
You're all bastards. You guys want me to continue this crappy fanfic, despite of knowing that it will (only) lead to further suffering for poor ol' Manta, who happens to be my favourite Shaman King character, only because you're all sadistical bastards who enjoy watching Manta suffer and -oh dear, I feel all teary-eyed when I think about it,- it feels so good to be among like-minded! ;o; You guys are great! Let's all be sadistic bastards together! -**english speaking, I PHAIL at XD- **Further writer's comments down below.  
**

'_It's warm and cosy, just like heaven.'_

Hey, it looks like he's waking up!

The first thing Manta saw, as he slowly opened his eyes, was a pretty, little girl-face. She had red eyes and white-grayish hair and smiled gently at him, as she rested her hand at his forehead. Hello there, I'm glad you seem to be feeling better, you were close to dying there for a while… Manta winced at the foreign words, the girl blurring in and out of view. Koko wa doko..? _Where am I_?He asked in a slurry voice before he closed his eyes again. _Why do I feel so tired? _

What did he say? Jeanne turned to Marco who stood beside her. I don't think it was English. Marco corrected his glasses before he squat down beside the young lady, eying Manta with a slightly suspicions frown. Should we wake him up and ask?

No, Jeanne said after a moment of thought, It's better to let him sleep. He'll need time to recover, let's ask him later when he's ready for it. Marco nodded in agreement. Yes, that will probably be for the best.

***..

When Manta woke up again a few hours later, the little red-eyed girl was gone. "Good morning sleepyhead." Instead there was a green eyed brunette who sat on the chair beside him. "Oh, let me help you." She said when Manta tried to sit up, propping up the pillows behind his back to give him support. "There, better now, no?" A moment of silence passed.

Manta glanced wearily around room, at the girl who sat down beside him and at the bed which he was laying in. He wondered if it all was just a dream, rubbing his forehead, he still felt groggy after being so close to death. He felt a small head ache starting to take form. _I am still alive?_

Suddenly the girl clasped her hands together. "Oh, I nearly forgot, how thoughtless of me." She stood up and headed for the door. "I'll be back in a moment."

Manta stared emptily after her. He hadn't fully comprehended what she wanted to say. He suspected that it was English, but it hurt too much to think harder about it. He groaned quietly, again rubbing his face, who was she? And what happened to the red eyed girl? Had she been only a dream? Where was he anyway? He looked at his hands, they were flaring red and stung horribly.

The girl returned about five minutes later, bringing a wooden-tray of sandwiches along with her and a cup of steaming hot chocolate. "Here," she said she gently put the tray on the bed. "You must be starving," Suddenly Manta grew aware of how hungry he really was, but still he hesitated, glancing at the girl nervously. She smiled softly and nodded slightly in response, as if wanting to say that it was all right, that it was okay to eat.

Slowly, he took one of the sandwiches and brought it to his mouth. But just when he was about to take a bite he stopped and lowered it slightly. "Ariga…" again, he hesitated, opening and closing his mouth slightly as if doubting his own words. "T-thank you very much." He knew almost instinctively that his accent was very heavy and that he probably put the pronunciation wrong in any possible way, scolding at himself mentally for not studying harder.

Yet somehow the message seemed to reach the girl who, after a short moment replaced her small and slightly confused frown with another kind looking smile. "You're welcome."

*******..**

**Yeah yeah, I know what you're all thinking. Too short, riddled with errors and a much too late update (not to mention too much writer's comments, sawy, but it's the only way I can redeem myself-_-'')  
Well, sorry I guess, and on top of that I'm feeling a bit rusty when it comes to writing in English... but the good new is that I've seemingly started writing again, mostly thanks to a certain fox-demon (cough-Raaka-cough) who threathen me with that her yami would litteraly kick my butt if I didn't update anytime soon... **

**By the way, Jeanne speaks in French when she speaks to Marco, if anyone of you guys speaks French fluently it would be really neat if you could help me out translating what she says into French.. like, it would be really kind of you... but when Minnie speaks (the other girl in the chapter) it's English. Just a lil note cause there will be a bit of a language-speaking-barrier-problem comming up with these guys... **

**But now last but surely not least, responce to all kind reviewers of this chapter (have already responded to some, but that was a long time ago)**

**Raaka the Fox demon: Agh! Here's another chapter, please don't hit mee~! ToT (though, it would be interesting to meet a yami in real life...)**

**Kerokacola: thank you! (btw, you guys who leave anymous reviews, it's cool and all, but please leave signed reviews if you can so I can respond to them? No worries, I don't bite ;D)**

**Fat Cat- Yay: (is that you, Garfield? 'bout your name) Sure! Any ideas? Suggestions? **

**The Insane Zen Child: 0/0''' don't exaggerate... victimized Faust you say? Not really into that but... we'll see, suggestions? **

**Alex-Hermandes: credit to this guy, he's the one who made me start writing again...**

**Blob no 1: nope, as you can see, he's still alive.. which means I have to keep writing... and to all who wonders, say "Eenguru" out loud a few times, similar to "ANGEL" isn't it?**

**Bansheegrrl: remember to pm me if you come up with any new ideas? :) You actually gave me an idea for another Mankin-fanfic, but that's another story.. say, if you ever get msn, pm me the adress, okay? Or a deviant account, I'm more active there. Your entusiasm really brightens up my day.**

**Oh! Also, if you made it down here, please read my oneshot; 'MINE'? It's about Faust and Manta... lil bit of BL but nothing grapic... jus lil Manta suffering... I really want feedback on that one... please? You would make me so happy? It's angsty-angst-angst..? **

**Dang, it's late and I must get to work tomorrow... ugh. Must hurry n get some sleep! _;;  
**


	9. Chapter 9

***-** Actually I first thought I'd edit last chapter and add this but… I'm too lazy. Ugh, I don't like this chapter, it's too cheesy. **

"Hello Manta, it's time for your medicine." The door creaked as Faust slowly opened it and walked inside, closely followed by his skeleton wife. He stopped dead in his tracks. The boy was nowhere to be found. The bed had been moved from the other side of the room, to the window which stood wide open, a rope of torn bed linens tied to one of the bed posts.

A cold breeze blew into the room, bringing with it a couple of snowflakes, tousling Faust's hair slightly. He showed no visual signs of anger or distress as he slowly walked over to the window and closed it. "So, he has escaped, hasn't he?" His voice was low and very calm. "He shouldn't have gotten very far, not in this weather and not in his clothes… he's probably laying under a pile of snow by now." he made a short pause, "I suppose this means I missed a rather interesting autopsy, didn't I?" He chuckled joylessly.

"A pity, really. Imagine what new knowledge he could have given the world… ah well," he sighed. "It's better not to cry over spilt milk," he looked at Eliza, his face showed a mix of emotions, agonizing grief and yet at the same time, tender and pure love. "Let's go prepare ourselves for tomorrow, we'll leave early in the morning."

He walked over to Eliza and gently he stroked his fingers across her skull bone, trying to remember how it had felt when she was alive and had hair, the softest, most beautiful and lovely smelling hair in history…

He couldn't remember. Far too long time had passed, even the memories of her, his most treasured memories that he held so dearly in his heart, were fading. Faust mourned this, almost as deeply as the loss of Eliza herself. Without the living, vivid memory of her, he was nothing.

"I promise you that I'll win the tournament, I _swear_ I will. And you will live again, my love."

Without her, he could not be. He needed her just as other people needed air to survive. He embraced her softly, the skeleton reflected the motion, yet it held no feelings. Like a puppet on strings. "I will win, in any other case, I will join you."

Yes, without her, or the possibility to bring her back, the continuation of life held no meaning to him. May it be that Faust's hunger of new knowledge hadn't faded, that he still desired deeply to help others to live longer, so their loved ones wouldn't suffer like he had, but that wasn't enough.

He _had_ to bring her back, otherwise he would die and join her in the other world. Either die by his own hand or in battle, it didn't matter. As long as he would be reunited with her in the end… the mere hope that thought gave him was enough comfort, enough incitement to keep him alive, at least for a little while longer.

It had been the most delicious meal he'd ever had in his entire life. Manta had tried, o so hard, not to gobble down the sandwiches, but ended up doing it anyway. The girl beside him however, seemed to be understanding as she came back with another refill of hot chocolate. Manta felt almost like crying with joy, how long had it been since he had drank something so sweet and tasty?

"I am Manta Oyamada." Again, he cursed at himself inwardly for not studying English hard enough. He had been one of the best English speakers in his class, only topped by Rina who had been half-American. But apparently it wasn't enough for outside classroom situations. "It is very nice to meet you." He felt himself blushing, even more when the girl smiled softly at him and answered.

"It's nice to meet you too, my name is Minnie Montgomery." A silent moment passed. There was so much Manta wanted to say, so many questions that demanded to be answered. Where was he? Was he still in Germany? But even though he had the basic knowledge of the English language, he didn't know how to phrase his questions. It was as if his mind was being clogged up.

Was he safe? Was he _really_ safe? What if Faust decided to go after him, bringing with him an army of skeletons? With that in mind, how could he even hope to be safe? His heart trembled in fear at the thought of it.

And looking at the girl beside him, _Minnie_, who was she, anyway? Why had she helped him? Surely there had to be a catch, there were always a catch somewhere. And what if she was in collusion with Faust? That sounded just right, the doctor would trick him into believing that had been rescued before he'd show up and kill him.

At once, his rational self began to argue against it. Manta knew, or rather, _sensed_, that he was being overly and unfairly suspicions. Why would Faust do such a thing? What would it be in that for him could gain profit of? It didn't make any sense!

And only a moment after the logical statement echoed in his head, guilt started to pile up. If this girl had saved him, and that seemed to be the only good explanation, how could he then be so horrible that he'd distrust his saviour? He felt so awful.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Minnie asked as she saw that Manta's shoulders had begun to shake. "Are you hurt somewhere?" She put her hand on the young boy's back in a try to give him comfort. To Minnie's surprise he flinched at her touch, but didn't pull away. Through her hand she felt how Manta's tense body trembled to the core.

"It is nothing, I am fine." He spoke weakly, it was a lie, of course, both of them knew it, but he wanted so badly to believe it. "It is nothing, I am fine." This time it is was a mere whisper, huge tears began to run down his face.

It wasn't manly tears, and somewhere in the back of his mind, Manta felt ashamed for crying in such a childish and undignified way, But he didn't care about feeling embarrassment, didn't have the energy for it, as he sobbed loudly, the noise echoing off the walls.

Manta felt almost scared by himself, afraid that if he'd finally let go and let all out all of his raging emotions, he'd die from it. Oh, he wanted so badly to be able to talk about it, tell this girl all about what he'd been through, but at the same time he didn't want to. If he did, it would certainly kill him, or so it felt at least.

Scared, he was oh so scared that he didn't know what to do with himself. The image of Faust, raging when he'd found out that he'd escaped, was so vivid in his mind. The sound of a million skeletons, barging in through the door, the doctor's insane laughter when he'd cut him opens, not even bothering to kill him before he'd start to remove his organs.

Slowly and very cautiously, Minnie wrapped her arms around Manta in a soft and almost tender embrace. She had very little experience how to deal with traumatized individuals, but she remembered faintly that she'd read somewhere that contiguity would have a calming effect.

And somehow, it also felt like the right thing to do.

Slowly, very slowly, Manta's sobs grew quieter and quieter, and then finally stopped completely. At first, had the intimate touch of an unknown stranger bothered him, but now he didn't care anymore. Instead he let himself be cradled, almost as a little child being caressed and comforted by its mother. Again, a tiny voice in his head frowned upon him and said that he was too old but, this time he ignored it. How wrong could it actually be? It felt good and didn't harm anybody. Manta closed his eyes, if he had wanted to say something before, it wasn't necessary anymore. There were no words that needed to be said, no explanations that needed to be told, and if there were, they could wait until later.

Only a few minutes later were Manta fast asleep and tucked into the bed by Minnie. She thought briefly of the times when she'd cradled and comforted her own baby brother. Sure, this boy was a lot bigger than how her brother had been, but she couldn't help being reminded by him. And with the memory, a feeling of loss and sorrow arose in her. But she quickly put those emotions aside, she needed to report to her leader, she'd know what to do.

Her divine guidance had never failed them, and it never would. Yes, Iron Maiden Jeanne would lead them all into the light, ushering everyone into a new and better world. There was no doubt about it.

**Eh… probably riddled with errors cause I'm too lazy to read it through again… but eh, whatever. **

**That part with Faust was more or less by what Alex-Hernandez suggested me to write in a pm. I dunno why but the phrase "time for your medicine," just seemed to stuck in my mind, and when I read it the first time, it really made me shiver, it really did. And yep, a lil bit of victimized Faust, hope you like it Zen child. **

**I mean, if you'll look at Faust more carefully, and you'll realize that he's not a bad person, he got a heart and loves Eliza so much that he's gonna do anything to be with her again (you know, that 'one true love' that I think most of us are looking for) it's a very sincere love. And honestly, I don't think Faust would go after Manta and 'seek out revenge' as it's not going to bring back Eliza. Sorry guys, it is just too out of character. In his mind, Manta's probably frozen to death, end of discussion. –However, he will be back for Manta, in Manta's dreams. –grins evilly- **

**Oh boy, I do feel bad for Manta though. Out of the Faust pan, and into X-laws' waiting hands. And now, he has PTSD (all right, not really, but he **_**is**_** traumatized and badly. And I think his self esteem also got roughed up pretty badly...) and dang, physical damages in one thing, but psychological problems can be so much worse, man oh man, I mean cus if you go break your arm people will see it and help you heal but if you're, for example, depressed, then people can't see it with their eyes and may not understand that you're ill. **

**Actually, I wish they'd gone more into Minnie's past (that's her name in the English Manga, that's why I'm using it) as far as I know, she had no little brother. I just felt like adding that, not that I'm going to give her a whole background story or anything, just thought it would give her a bit more depth and reason why she's so kind to Manta (all right, maybe she's just naturally a very nice person but.. whatever) and as for the mentioned half American Rina, yup, nothing but something I just came up with as I wrote it. No one important, no one who'll ever come back. **

**Ikkona: I'm working on the next chapter right now, I'll pm you when I need help (once again, thanks a lot, merci.)**

**A: Thanks, dunno what you mean but thanks anyway, glad you like it :)**

**Alex-Hernandez: Sorry mate, I really am. But if Faust would go up against the X-laws, he'd most certainly die. And I want to keep him alive at least for little while longer. Again, I'm sorry.**

**Bansheegrrl: man oh man, you've just inspired me enough to start writing another story I've been planning for… months. I'm so glad you started watching me on da –hugs you-**

**KOSMOS Crusnik 06: Thanks mate, I'll do my best.**

**Raaka the Fox Demon: Idk why but... for some reason I had expected something more… dignified. But I'm glad that you didn't kill me after all. All right, you're not a sadistic bastard, sorry, you're and exception, I get it now… -closes the door behind you- **

**Fat Cat Yay: ..you mean you're not Garfield? D: So I've been making lasagna all in vain? …Ah well, I'll eat it myself then… eh, actually, when I started to write this story, I figured that I'd let Yoh be ignorant to the fact that Manta's missing, but now I realize that if he'd go missing, there would be posters with his face all over Japan (and the rest of the world too, I reckon) heck, you'd have to be both blind n deaf to miss that. But then, Yoh **_**can't**_** go looking after his best bud cause he have to train for the coming tournament (Anna won't let him) but yup, he wants almost nothing more but to have his best friend back. As for the rest with him meeting Faust & the X-laws, don't worry, it'll happen in the future. And man, that's going to be so angsty that it's gonna…. uh… be angsty? **

**Oh man, I write too much, it's just so much I wanna tell you guys, I'm sorry. **


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